VISTA: City plans to buy back redevelopment properties

Vista's redevelopment agency plans to sell all of its land to
the city next week in a complicated deal that city officials hope
will thwart any attempt by the state to seize the properties.

Under the plan, Vista will purchase 50 parcels now owned by the
redevelopment agency and then lease the property back to the
agency.

The City Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall,
200 Civic Center Drive, and again at 2 p.m. Thursday at City Hall
to discuss the idea.

Bill Rawlings, Vista's director of redevelopment and housing,
said the move should keep the properties under Vista's control if
Gov. Jerry Brown succeeds in his proposal to abolish redevelopment
agencies.

Brown has proposed that redevelopment programs, which divert tax
revenue from schools and government coffers to pay for economic
development projects, should be shut down to free up $1.7 billion
for basic services, including education and public safety. The
proposal is part of his plan to reorganize government and close
what Brown has described as a $25 billion budget deficit.

In Vista, the redevelopment agency is called the Community
Development Commission.

"Our plan is to completely liquidate the CDC so that there areno resources left for the state to take," Rawlings said.

The city will also use a special financing plan ---- debt the
redevelopment agency already owes the city, plus promissory notes
that will be repaid with lease revenue ---- to avoid any impact on
Vista's already beleaguered general fund.

Rawlings said the plan leaves the general fund
"bulletproof."

"The debt is secured by the CDC, so all the risk stays there,"
he said.

To organize the purchases, the city has divided the parcels into
three groups. Rawlings said Thursday night he didn't have an exact
price on what they would cost the city.

However, a city report estimated that the first group ---- North
County Ford, BMW of Vista and Sonic ---- will cost a combined $17.1
million. All three of those businesses lease their properties from
the redevelopment agency, Rawlings said.

Vista's redevelopment agency owes the city a total of $19.6
million plus interest, he said.

To pay for the first group, the city will shave $6 million off
that debt and issue the agency a promissory note with 5 percent
interest, according to a city report. The note would be paid using
lease revenue for the properties. Rawlings said the city's general
fund would have no commitment.

The City Council will vote on the purchase of the first group of
properties on Tuesday.

The other two groups of properties will be discussed at a
special meeting on Thursday.

Rawlings said the rest of the redevelopment agency's debt to the
city will be used to pay for the properties and the balance will be
secured by a promissory note.

The city will then lease back all of the properties to the
redevelopment agency, and the redevelopment agency's lease payments
will be used to pay off the note.

In January, the City Council approved a "reimbursement
agreement" between the city and the redevelopment agency that
allows the city to make improvements to the South Santa Fe Avenue
corridor with the redevelopment agency responsible for paying for
the projects. Previously, the redevelopment agency was charged with
both tasks.